Robert Reginald Livingston

Robert Reginald Livingston Jr. (August 4, 1888 – November 7, 1962), was an American politician and farmer from New York.

Robert Reginald Livingston
Member of the New York State Assembly for Columbia County
In office
January 1, 1923 – December 31, 1923
Preceded byRoscoe C. Waterbury
Succeeded byLewis F. Harder
Personal details
Born(1888-08-04)August 4, 1888
Clermont, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 7, 1962(1962-11-07) (aged 74)
Hudson, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocrat
Spouse(s)
Alice Delafield Dean
(m. 1922; div. 1932)

Dorothy Champion Farrar Hutton
(after 1945)
RelationsEdward De Peyster Livingston (uncle)
Goodhue Livingston (uncle)
Earl E. T. Smith (cousin)
Edward Neufville Tailer (grandfather)
ChildrenSusan P. Livingston
Parent(s)Robert Reginald Livingston
Mary Elizabeth Tailer
Alma materPrinceton University
Columbia Law School

Early life

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Livingston was born on August 4, 1888, at Clermont in Columbia County. He was a son of Robert Reginald Livingston Sr. (1858–1899) of Northwood,[1] and Mary Elizabeth (née Tailer) Livingston (1863–1944).[2][3] After his father's death, his mother lived at her New York home, 11 Washington Square North (built by her grandfather Thomas Suffern in 1833, and host to President Ulysses S. Grant in her childhood) and later at 1192 Park Avenue.[4] His sister, Laura Suffern Livingston,[5] married Howland Shippen Davis (executive vice president of the New York Stock Exchange),[6] in 1914.[7][8] They owned the "Teviot" estate (built in 1843 by Eugene Livingston) in Tivoli,[5] which their son Howland later sold to Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone magazine.[9][10]

A member of the prominent Livingston family,[11] his paternal grandparents were Robert Edward Livingston (son of New York State Senator and 11th Lt. Gov. of New York Edward Philip Livingston and Elizabeth Stevens Livingston, the eldest daughter of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston)[12] and Susan Maria (née de Peyster) Livingston (sister of Frederic James de Peyster).[13] Among his extended family were uncles Edward De Peyster Livingston (a lawyer who was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred" in 1892[14])[15] and Goodhue Livingston,[16] an architect with Trowbridge & Livingston who designed the Hayden Planetarium.[17] His maternal grandparents were Agnes (née Suffern) Tailer and Edward Neufville Tailer, a prominent merchant and banker.[18] His aunt, Agnes Suffern Tailer, was married to U.S. Attorney Henry Lawrence Burnett,[19] and his first cousin, Earl Edward Tailer Smith was a diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Cuba and mayor of Palm Beach.[20]

Livingston graduated from Princeton University in 1910 and Columbia Law School in 1914.[21]

Career

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After his admission to the New York bar, he took up the practice of law with the firm of Hunt, Hill and Betts at 120 Broadway.[22] During World War I, he served as a Lieutenant in the American Expeditionary Forces of the U.S. Army.[23] He later became a fruit farmer in New York, growing mostly grapes and apples.[24] He helped organize and served as president of the Germantown Cold Storage Company, the first large commercial storage in the Hudson Valley,[24] as well as founder and president the Germantown National Bank.[22]

Political career

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He was the Democratic candidate to represent Columbia County in the New York State Assembly in the years 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925. He was defeated each time except for 1922, when he was elected to succeed Republican Roscoe C. Waterbury for the 146th New York State Legislature in 1923.[22] Livingston was replaced by Republican Lewis F. Harder.[25]

In 1928, he was candidate for U.S. Representative to represent New York's 27th congressional district, losing to Republican Harcourt J. Pratt. In 1932, he was an alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York,[26] and served as chair of Columbia County Democratic Party in 1953.[27]

Personal life

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On February 23, 1922, Livingston was married to Alice Delafield Dean (1900–1975) by Bishop William T. Manning at St. James Church in New York City.[28] She was a daughter of Philip S. Dean of 790 Park Avenue[29] and Annandale in Dutchess County.[22] Before their divorce in 1932, they lived at 1192 Park Avenue where his wife hosted large parties,[30] and were the parents of one daughter, Susan P. Livingston (b. 1926)[23]

In January 1945, Robert, his sister, and their cousin Goodhue Livingston Jr., sold a piece of property located northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan. The inherited property was purchased by their grandfather, Robert E. Livingston, for $4,400 in 1863 and had been in the family since.[31]

On March 3, 1945, he remarried to Dorothy Champion Farrar Hutton at the Second Church in Newton in West Newton, Massachusetts.[21] Dorothy, who was born in England and attended private schools there, was a daughter of Walter F. Hutton.[32]

Livingston, who lived at Northwood Farms until his death,[27] died at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York on November 7, 1962.[24]

References

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  1. ^ Year Book of the Dutchess County Historical Society. The Dutchess County Historical Society. 1928. p. 59. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. ^ "MRS. LIVINGSTON, 82, NURSERY ADVOCATE; Member of Noted Family Dies - Ex-Delegate Had Served on Democratic State Group". The New York Times. 19 October 1944. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  3. ^ "TAILER-BROWN WEDDING.; Guests Gather at Baltimore for the Ceremony To-day". The New York Times. 14 April 1909. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. ^ "MRS. LIVINGSTON HOSTESS.; Gives a Dance for Her Son, R. R. Livingston, and Fiancee, Miss Dean". The New York Times. 17 February 1922. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Rites Set at Tivoli for Mrs. Howland Davis". Poughkeepsie Journal. 1 June 1967. p. 28. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. ^ "HOWLAND S. DAVIS, PARK EXECUTIVE; Former Vice President of Stock Exchange Is Dead". The New York Times. July 16, 1969. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  7. ^ The New York Times Index. 1914. p. 227. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  8. ^ Leonard, John William; Mohr, William Frederick; Knox, Herman Warren; Holmes, Frank R.; Downs, Frank R. (1918). Who's who in New York (city and State). Who's who publications, Incorporated. p. 272. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  9. ^ Nemy, Enid (27 July 1981). "The Livingstons - A Clan's Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  10. ^ Doxsey, Patricia (February 3, 2008). "Rolling Stone publisher buys riverfront estate in Tivoli". Daily Freeman. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  11. ^ The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. 1880. p. 155. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  12. ^ Livingston, Edwin Brockholst (1910). The Livingstons of Livingston Manor: Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and Also Including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants. Knickerbocker Press. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Mrs. Susan de Peyster Livingston" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 February 1910. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  14. ^ McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  15. ^ "EDWARD LIVINGSTON DEAD AT FAMILY HOME; Was of Old and Distinguished New York Ancestry Funeral Tomorrow" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 January 1932. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  16. ^ "G. LIVINGSTON DIES; LONG AN ARCHITECT; Practitioner Here for 50 Years Included Hayden Planetarium, Oregon Capitol in His Work". The New York Times. 4 June 1951. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  17. ^ Trowbridge, Francis Bacon (1908). The Trowbridge Genealogy: History of the Trowbridge Family in America. Vol. 1. New Haven, CT: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor. pp. 608–609. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  18. ^ "Edward N. Tailer Dead – Retired Merchant Was Member of an Old New York Family". The New York Times. 16 February 1917. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Mrs. H. L. Burnett". The New York Times. 12 December 1932. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Mrs. F. Tailer Carpenter Estate Split Between Sons". Newport Daily News. 13 January 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  21. ^ a b "MISS HUTTON BRIDE OF R.R. LIVINGSTON; Montreal Girl Is Wed in West Newton, Mass., to Member of Noted New York Family". The New York Times. March 4, 1945. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  22. ^ a b c d The New York Red Book. Williams Press. 1923. p. 107. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  23. ^ a b "WIFE SUES R.R. LIVINGSTON; Former Alice Delafield Dean Asks for a Divorce In Reno". The New York Times. March 25, 1932. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  24. ^ a b c "ROBERT LIVINGSTON, A FRUIT GROWER, 74". The New York Times. 8 November 1962. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  25. ^ "My Day Index: Livingston, Robert Reginald, 1888-1962". www2.gwu.edu. The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Digital Edition. 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  26. ^ "Livingston, Robert Reginald (1888-1962)". politicalgraveyard.com. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  27. ^ a b "R.R. Livingston Dies; Former Assemblyman". The Troy Record. 9 November 1962. p. 4. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  28. ^ "ALICE D. DEAN, BRIDE OF R.R. LIVINGSTON; Bishop Manning Performs the Ceremony in St. James's Church in Madison Av. HER SISTER HONOR MAID Reception at Cosmopolitan Club-- Bridal Pair to Sail Tomorrow on Mediterranean Trip". The New York Times. 24 February 1922. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  29. ^ "Livingston-Dean Wedding Feb. 23". The New York Times. January 28, 1922. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  30. ^ "NEW YORKERS GIVE SEVERAL DINNERS; Mrs. Robert R. Livingston Is Hostess to Large Group at Her Park Ave. Home BARBARA HILL ENTERTAINS Gives Tea for Russian Ball Aides-Lucy Tew and Her Fiance Honored". The New York Times. 7 January 1938. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  31. ^ "OLD HOLDING SOLD ON SIXTH AVENUE; Builders Get 53d St. Site From the Livingston Heirs --Dwelling Bought". The New York Times. January 12, 1945. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  32. ^ "TROTH ANNOUNCED OF DOROTHY HUTTON; Montreal Girl Will Be Bride of Robert R. Livingston, Member of Noted New York Family". The New York Times. 4 February 1945. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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New York State Assembly
Preceded by New York State Assembly
Columbia County

1923
Succeeded by